(Austin) State Representative Matt Krause (R, HD 93-Fort Worth) filed one of Texas Right to Life's legislative measures for the 83rd Legislative Session today. House Bill 3302 would close the loopholes in the judicial process through which minors undergo secret abortions. Currently, Texas law allows a minor to circumvent parental involvement in her abortion by petitioning a judge for permission. Abortion providers assign abortion-minded lawyers to “represent' these pregnant teens in court and thereby guide them to sympathetic judges and rehearse with the teens what to say before the court.

HB 3302 will protect the pregnant minors who are victims of sexual abuse and further empower the judge to determine the best interest of the pregnant minor. The bill would also limit forum shopping so that the abortion clinics’ attorneys cannot play games in the courthouse to pick their activist judges to rush girls through an abortion. This bill will ensure that a judge is able to consider what is really in the best interest of the pregnant minor and report any physical or sexual abuse.

Texas Right to Life's goal is to close the many loopholes in the judicial bypass procedure that jeopardize pregnant minors and abrogate the rights of parents to be involved in the health and care of their young daughters. HB 3302 encompasses the feedback of judges across the state who have been frustrated at the lack of oversight in this process as well as the collaboration of the prolife organizations in the state.